GARDENS OF ESTE AND GONZAGA PRINCES 



son, the warlike Alfonso the First, built the new 

 pleasure-house, called " La Castellina " from its castel- 

 lated walls, in this corner of the grounds near the 

 ramparts, and planted a triangle with pergolas of quince 

 and cherry, plum and pear trees, and avenues of elm 

 and cypress all converging to a central point. His 

 grandson, another Alfonso, added a marble flight of steps 

 leading from the Casino to the Peschiera, a large pond 

 encircled with a pillared balustrade, where fish darted 

 to and fro under the crystal waters and rose to the surface 

 at the sound of a tinkling bell to be fed by the Duchess 

 and her ladies. 1 



In his later years, when Duke Ercole laid out the new 

 district known as the Addizione Erculea to the north of 

 the old town, he planted double avenues of elms along 

 the ramparts which enclosed the Certosa and villa of Bel- 

 fiore, thus clothing the bastions for the defence of the 

 city with beautiful verdure. At the same time he added 

 a splendid chapel and frescoed halls to the palace of 

 Belriguardo, which was said to contain as many rooms 

 as days of the year, while the gardens, with their wealth 

 of statuesque fountains and skilfully planned perspec- 

 tives commanding superb views of the plains and river 

 Po, were celebrated throughout Italy. When, in the 

 summer of 1493, Lodovico Sforza visited Ferrara with 

 his wife and child, he was enchanted with this villa, and 

 1 M. A. Guarini, Compendia historico di chiese di Ferrara, pp. 57-59. 



39 



